michigan
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Midwestern Brewery Whose Manager Basically Claimed He Didn’t See Black People Settles Racial Discrimination Lawsuit
A prominent Midwestern brewery has settled a discrimination lawsuit with a former employee who claimed he was fired after reporting various incidents of racial discrimination at the business. Tracy Evans’ lawsuit against Detroit-based Founders Brewing attracted national attention when one of its managers in a deposition claimed he “couldn’t be sure what constituted a black…
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Detroit Students Are Making a Federal Case Out of What They Say Was an Education So Poor, It Violated Their Constitutional Rights
An eighth-grader teaching his fellow students math for a month when the teacher quit. Third- and fourth-grade materials in high school classes. Playgrounds covered with broken glass and burst pipes in schoolrooms. These are some of the wretched conditions plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit charge they faced while being educated in Detroit’s public schools. They’re…
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He’s Just a Good Ol’ Boy: Fired Michigan Cop’s Excuse for Having a KKK Application in His Home
If you grew up during the ’80s when The Dukes of Hazzard ruled the TV airwaves, then you’re probably familiar with the opening lines from its Waylon Jennings-penned theme song: “Just’a good ol’ boys, Never meaning no harm …” And that, in a nutshell, is the excuse being offered up by a Michigan cop fired…
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Berry Gordy Announces His Retirement at 89
After six decades in the entertainment industry, Berry Gordy is calling it quits. According to the Detroit Free Press, the 89-year-old music mogul made the surprise announcement on Sunday during Motown’s 60th-anniversary Hitsville Honors ceremony at Detroit’s Orchestra Hall. After accepting the Motown Legacy Award from filmmaker Lee Daniels, Gordy made the big reveal during…
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No Charges Filed Against Police Officer Who Killed 11-Year-Old Riding a Bike: 'Justice Was Not Served'
In what has become an all too familiar outcome, another officer of the law will go unpunished for his role in taking a young black life. WWMT reports that after reviewing the death of 11-year-old Norman Hood of Battle Creek, Mich., the special prosecutor assigned to the case declined to file criminal charges against the…
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Michigan Cop Found With KKK Application in His Home Fired
Nearly a month after a framed KKK application was found in his home, the Muskegon Police Department has fired veteran police officer Charles Anderson. The cop had been placed on administrative leave after a black homebuyer came across the KKK memorabilia and other racist insignia in Anderson’s home, which was up for sale. Muskegon City…
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Woman Who Wanted to Keep Michigan Town White ‘As Possible’ Withdraws Her City Council Bid, But Not Before Saying More Racist Nonsense
Jean Cramer, a city council candidate in Michigan who publicly said she wanted to keep her community as white “as possible,” withdrew her candidacy on Monday. For the first time since espousing her racist views at a candidate forum last week, Cramer showed the barest sliver of good sense, submitting a one-sentence letter to Marysville…
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Michigan City County Candidate Wants to Keep County as White ‘As Possible’
When we at The Root note that President Trump emboldens white supremacy, we aren’t just talking about the marching thugs dressed in khakis, wielding tiki torches and punchable faces; we’re also talking about the albino walrus in the highest office using his platform to normalize hate speech. The trickle-down effect appears to be that some…
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#LookingWhileBlack: Police Stop, Question Black Man for ‘Looking Suspiciously’ at a White Woman
In what serves as the latest example of #ExistingWhileBlack, I present 20-year-old Devin Meyers, who was stopped by police for—wait for it—“looking suspiciously” at a white woman. No, really. Have you ever seen a white woman in public? They do a lot of suspicious shit. But regardless, according to the Daily Dot, police in Royal…
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Fears and Frustrations as Newark, NJ, Hands Out Bottled Water Amid a Lead-Contaminated Water Crisis of Its Own
Inspiring comparisons to the water crisis in Flint, Mich., New Jersey’s biggest (and predominantly black) city, Newark, is handing out bottled water to its residents amid a worsening contaminated water crisis. Like Flint, the problem in Newark is that much of its tap water is contaminated with lead. It’s a problem that first started percolating…